Signup for the Newsletter

Blizzard’s new StarCraft II teaser is epic in every way

Some game cinematics have space marines and aliens. Some have aerial battles. Some have complex mechs. But the new trailer for StarCraft II has all three – and so, so many of them.

From the opening shot of fighter craft swooping down on a vast ruined city, it’s obvious that ‘low key’ is not the watchword for the new expansion pack for Blizzard’s real-time strategy title.

But over the course of three minutes, the scale just builds and builds. Huge alien motherships. Platoons of marines. Enormous alien creatures. Gigantic statues being toppled. (Did we mention that it’s in 1080p?)

Fifty (thousand) shades of grey
The visual style is interesting: a desaturated, matte look that sometimes leaves you wondering whether things are made out of metal or plastic, but which does ‘gritty and windswept’ pretty effectively.

There’s also a reveal at the end in which the tone and style change completely, and which we won’t spoil if the plot of StarCraft II means anything to you. (We had to look it up online, and we’re still none the wiser.)

But it’s all engrossing stuff – and, we assume, produced in-house at Blizzard. Kudos to the cinematics team. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm is out on 12 March.